I know that countless people join me in being grateful for a great snow season thus far. Not only does snow bring joy, excitement and adventure into many lives from all over the world, but it means employment, successful businesses, food on the table and healthy rivers and habitats later this year.

Like many who live in the Roaring Fork Valley we are blessed to have a dog. Our four legged companion is a Bouvier named Osa (feminine Spanish word for bear). Osa thrives on being outside and the more room to explore the happier she is. What has fascinated me for a long time is that she, along with other dogs in the neighborhood, is most content and pleased during the winter months.

While I know many of us are thrilled when there is a lot of snow due to what snow enables us to do outside, I remain a bit perplexed by Osa and some of her canine friends. Osa, like other area dogs, seems happiest when she is able to bury herself in a big snowbank or is allowed to sit outside on a snow pile for hours on end simply watching life go by. She rarely appears to be cold and is generally frustrated when we ask her to come back inside. That said, I have noticed there are particular times in which she is thrilled to come home.

I don’t know what you call it, but Osa, like other dogs, collects massive balls of snow on her legs especially when she runs around. There are moments when she must be carrying pounds of snow and I am surprised she is able to walk under the weight of it all. When this happens, Osa is pleased to come in the door and thaw.

After recently taking the picture of Osa in this e-letter, I thought of something. It hit me that there have been hours, days, or even sustained periods of time in my life in which I actually felt like Osa. Not weighed down by snow and ice on my body, but under the weight of challenges, problems and heartaches. That for all of us, there are passages in which we collect things that seem to hang on to us and cling to our hearts and minds.

The good news for Osa is when she comes into the house, the snow and ice on her legs quickly melts, at which point she joyfully rests and takes a long nap. And I wonder if, when we are carrying loads that tire us out, if God invites us to go inside of ourselves and intentionally take some time and spend time with God. Actually I don’t wonder, I believe this was what Jesus was getting at when he said, “Come to me all of you who are burdened and I will give you rest.”

I pray for each of us that we will find joy, excitement and adventure regardless of the climate conditions we find ourselves within. But I also pray that when we feel heavy, we will remember the story of Osa and, more importantly, what Jesus continues to say to us each and every day, “I will give you rest.”